What Are the Rights of a Noncustodial Parent in Texas?

Child Custody in Texas is referred to as a conservatorship. Most parents are joint managing conservators. The conservators are endowed with rights and duties.

Some Parental Rights

• To have physical possession of the child
• To direct the moral and religious training of the child
• To designate the residence of the child
• To consent to the child’s marriage, enlistment in the military, and for medical, dental, psychiatric, psychological and surgical treatment
• To represent the child in legal action
• To receive support for the child
• To inherit from the child
• To make decisions about the child’s education

Some Parental Duties

• The duty of care, control, protection and reasonable discipline of the child
• The duty to support the child
• The duty to manage the estate of the child

Possessory Vs. Non-possessory Parents

Although one parent is named the possessory parent, both parents usually share rights and duties equally. The other parent is named the non-possessory parent, and has a visitation schedule that has been set at the time of the divorce or the adjudication of the parent.

Noncustodial Parent Conflicts

There are times when parents cannot agree, and sometimes a tiebreaker is named. In cases of extreme, one parent may be invested with unilateral rights concerning medical, educational and financial decisions. If, for example, one parent has religious beliefs that eschew medical intervention, and the other parent does not – there isn’t a way to compromise.

Each parent, during their possession, can spend their time with their child or children as they please without the interference of the other parent. Conflicts often arise from one parent scheduling activities during the other parent’s time, or when the child is in contact with a person that the other parent does not feel is good for the child. The range of who isn’t good for a child is vast, and often the emotions between the former spouses or couples get expressed as he or she is not a fit person to be around my child. The courts are full of these types of disagreements.

Sole Conservators

On occasion, some parents are named as sole conservators of a child. This is extreme and is not easily achieved. Some things that might influence the court to name one parent as sole conservator is the existence of family violence, registration as a sex offender, or other serious mental illness.

Child custody matters are important and often call for the need of an attorney to ensure that the needs of your children are taken care of in an appropriate way. If you need legal assistance, contact the experienced Vaught Law Firm today to get the representation you deserve.